Thursday, November 30, 2017

The 2017 World Racquetball Tour (WRT) season ends this weekend with the Alamo City Open in San Antonio, Texas. David Horn can finish #1, if he wins the tournament, but he comes into the event seeded #2 with Rodrigo Montoya #1. Fewer than 200 ranking points separate Horn and Montoya with Andree Parrilla in 3rd about 1200 points behind Horn.

Horn won the last WRT title in Utah, and two of the last three, which is part of how he’s got himself into position to finish the year on top. But the Alamo City field is good with all of the top 10 ranked WRT players set to compete in San Antonio.

The Round of 32 will begin Friday morning with the Round of 16 to follow late Friday afternoon and evening. The quarterfinals begin Saturday morning at 10:30 AM with the semi-finals Saturday evening at 5 PM and 6:05 PM. The final is set for Sunday at 12:30 PM. You can watch the action live on Saturday and Sunday via the WRT website or the WRT Facebook page.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 player on the the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), has been running rampant. He’ll have a chance to continue that rampage this weekend at the John Pelham Memorial / ProKennex Tournament of Champions in Portland, Oregon. Waselenchuk has surrendered only 12.07 points per match this season (not counting the three matches where his opponent has forfeited), which astonishing. He has dropped a couple of games, after sweeping through all of his matches last season.

Waselenchuk’s record since the US Open in October is jaw dropping, as in five matches (the three forfeit wins have come in the last two events) he’s only allowed 24 points to be scored against him. That’s an average of 1.6 points against per game! Anyone want to argue against Waselenchuk being the best men’s racquetball player of all time?

Nevertheless, there will be 23 other players trying to prevent another Waselenchuk win this weekend in Portland. The field includes the top IRT players, such as #2 Rocky Carson, #3 Alvaro Beltran and #4 Daniel De La Rosa.

Other players of note include former top 10 players Tony Carson and Charles Pratt. Mauro Rojas will also be in Portland off his Boy’s U18 World Junior Championship win earlier this month.

The IRT Round of 16 will be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon from 5 PM on. Also, the semi-finals will be Noon and 1 PM Saturday with the final Saturday night at 7:00 PM. All times Pacific.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The conclusion of the 2017 Bolivarian Games in Santa Marta, Colombia confused The Racquetball Blog staff, as some of the teams in Men’s and Women’s Doubles that were in the final were teams that we thought had lost earlier in the medal round, so we weren’t sure why that was. But we’ve been told that two of the Colombian players - Mario Mercado and Adriana Riveros - were ruled ineligible late in the tournament, because they had not met the eligibility requirements. Both Mercado and Riveros were born in Bolivia, and only got their Colombian passports recently. Bolivarian Games rules are that players need to have a passport for the country they are representing for at least three years, which is much longer than Mercado and Riveros have had theirs, so they were disqualified.

Thus, contrary to what we reported a few days ago, Colombia wasn’t in either Men’s or Women’s Doubles final.

Bolivia took advantage of this, and swept the doubles events. On the Men’s side, Bolivians Roland Keller and Conrrado Moscoso beat Luis Perez and Ramon De Leon of the Dominican Republic, 15-1, 15-3, while their team-mates Jenny Daza and Stefanny Barrios won a close match against Guatemalans Gabriela Martinez and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-14, 4-15, 11-9.

Overall, Bolivia topped the medal standings with eight total medals: four gold, two silver and two bronze. Colombia was second with four overall: two gold and two bronze. Guatemala won two silver medals, Ecuador one silver and four bronze, and Dominican Republican won one silver and one bronze. Four years ago it was Ecuador who topped the medal standings. The locale for the 2021 Bolivarian Games has not been chosen.

Monday, November 27, 2017

Frédérique Lambert and Samuel Murray won the Men's and Women's divisions, respectively, at the first Canadian Racquetball National Team Selection Event of the season on the weekend in Vernon, British Columbia. The outcomes are not surprising, as Lambert and Murray are the highest ranked Canadian players on their respective racquetball pro tours.

In the women’s semi-finals, Lambert defeated Danielle Drury, 15-11, 15-3, while Saunders needed a tie-breaker to get past Christine Richardson, 15-4, 4-15, 11-8. Murray defeated Coby Iwaasa in one men’s semi, 15-11, 15-8, as Iwaasa made his return to competitive racquetball after a two years away on mission as part of the Church of Latter Day Saints.

Landeryou upset top men’s seed, and Canadian #1, Mike Green in the other men’s semi, 15-17, 15-3, 11-5.

This Selection Event was the first opportunity for players to earn points in the selection process for the 2018 World Championships in China next August. The next Selection Event will be in Kitchener, Ontario, February 2-4, 2018 with the 2018 Canadian National Championships in Winnipeg, May 20-26 2018, serving as the third and final selection event.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Bolivians have claimed two of the three spots in the Men’s and Women’s Singles gold medal finals at the Bolivarian Games in Santa Marta, Colombia. The Women’s Singles final will be Bolivian Jenny Daza versus Colombian Cristina Amaya, while Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia claimed one of the spots n the Men’s Final with a possibility his team-mate - Carlos Keller - will win the other spot.

On the womeen’s side, Amaya beat Brenda Laime of Bolivia, 15-4, 15-5, in one semi-final, while Daza defeated Carla Muñoz of Chile, 15-11, 15-4, in the other, and on the men’s side, Moscoso needed three games to fend off Ecuador’s Fernando Rios, winning 14-15, 15-4, 11-5. The last semi-final involves Keller and Sebastian Franco of Colombia,

The semi-finals will conclude Friday with the finals Saturday in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Fernando Rios of Ecuador is the upset winner so far in Men’s Singles quarterfinals at the 2017 Bolivarian Games in Santa Marta, Colombia, as he defeated Mario Mercado of Colombia, 15-3, 7-15, 11-7. Rios will play Conrrado Moscoso in the semi-finals later Friday, as Moscoso bear Edwin Galicia of Guatemala, 15-7, 15-10, in the quarters.

There were no upsets in the Women’s Singles quarters, although there were some matches with Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) regulars. In one, Colombian Cristina Amaya defeated Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala, 15-8, 15-10, while Carla Muñoz of Chile beat Adriana Riveros of Colombia, 15-7, 15-3, in another.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

The medal round began Thursday at the 2017 Bolivarian Games in Santa Marta, Colombia. There were no big surprises, in general, but another good win in Women’s Singles for Guatemalan Maria Renee Rodriguez who defeated Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador, 11-15, 15-8, 11-5. She’ll play Jenny Daza of Bolivia in the quarterfinals.

But Muñoz wasn’t winless Thursday, as she and team-mate Lucia Sarmiento came back from a game down, including fighting off match point, to beat Mariana Tobon and Lilian Zea of Venezuela, 7-15, 15-14, 11-5.

The medal round continues in Santa Marta Friday with the quarterfinals and semi-finals in singles and the semi-finals in doubles.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Women’s and Men’s Singles group stage matches are through at the 2017 Bolivarian Games in Santa Marta, Colombia. In Women’s Singles, Colombian Cristina Amaya defeated Carla Muñoz of Chile, 15-12, 7-15, 11–6, but we believe Muñoz will still top Group B, although she, Amaya and Guatemala’s Maria Renee Rodriguez were all 1-1 in the group matches. But Muñoz won 3 games and lost 2, while Amaya was 3 & 3, and Rodriguez 2 & 3, so we think that’s the way they will be ranked.

A dramatic match in Group D of Women’s Singles, as Paola Guerra of Venezuela defeated Alejandra Jimenez of the Dominican, 11-15, 15-11, 11-10. With the win, Guerra will be 3rd in the group, behind Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala in first and Adriana Riveros of Colombia, second.

In Men’s Singles, Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia and Luis Perez of the Dominican Republic battled for 1st place in Group A with the the Bolivian Moscoso coming out on top, 7-15, 15-4, 11-2. Another Men’s Singles match that went breaker was a surprise, as Colombian Sebastian Franco was pushed to three games by Venezuelan Luis Zea despite Zea coming into the match winless. But Franco was able to pull out the match in three games, 15-10, 10-15, 11-4.

The group stage wraps up Wednesday, and the medal round begins Thursday. The finals will be Saturday in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The 2017 Bolivarian Games are going on now in Santa Marta, Colombia. The Bolivarian Games are a quadrennial event (i.e., one that occurs every 4 years) that is a stepping block to the Olympics. The Olympics were last year in Rio, so this is the first year of a new quadrennial. Thus, smaller multi-sport games are occurring this year.

Next year there will be the Central American and Caribbean Games, which is a bigger event than the Bolivarian Games. Then in 2019, the Pan American Games will occur in Lima, Peru, and then in 2020 the Summer Olympics are in Tokyo. Racquetball hasn’t been included in the Olympic Games - yet - (we’ve talked about this issue previously), but it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and racquetball is a part of these other games.

There are only 8 countries in the event, but there are some high quality players involved. As with other international events, the competition begins with a group stage lasting three days followed by a medal round.

They’ve played two days of the group stage, and there have been some interesting results and several tie-breakers. Perhaps the most interesting result so far is Guatemala’s Maria Renee Rodriguez defeating Colombian Cristina Amaya, 13-15, 15-11, 11-7, in Group B. But Rodriguez may not finish top of the group, because she lost to Carla Muñoz of Chile, 15-3, 15-4. Muñoz and Amaya square off in the last match of the group today, and if Muñoz wins, she’ll top the group. But a win by Amaya and it’ll depend on games won to determine the group finishing order.

The group stage wraps up on Wednesday with the medal round beginning Thursday. The finals will be Saturday in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Kane Waselenchuk, the International Racquetball Tour's (IRT's:) #1 player won the St. Louis Pro Racquetball Winter Rollout in St. Louis, Missouri Saturday by defeating IRT #2, Rocky Carson, 11-1, 11-3, 11-4, in the final. Waselenchuk's win continues his undefeated season, and puts his tournament winning streak at 19. Saturday's win was the 109th of Waselenchuk's career.

In the semi-finals, Waselenchuk was a forfeit winner over Daniel De La Rosa, while Carson beat Jansen Allen, the 6th seed, 11-7, 11-7, 11-3.

In doubles, Jake Bredenbeck and David Horn won a tie-breaker to defeat Felipe Camacho and Samuel Murray, 12-15, 15-8, 11-8.

The next IRT Tier 1 event will be the Portland Tournament of Champions, November 30 to December 3 in Portland, Oregon.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Jansen Allen is into the semi-finals at the 2017 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) St. Louis Pro Racquetball Winter Rollout in St. Louis, Missouri, which is his first semi-final appearance since March. Allen, seeded 6th, got there by upsetting 3rd seed Alvaro Beltran, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7. In the semis, Allen will face IRT #2 Rocky Carson, who was a winner over Sebastian Franco in the quarterfinals on Friday, 11-6, 11-10 [sic], 11-2.

Kane Waselenchuk, the IRT's #1 player, defeated fellow Canadian Samuel Murray, 11-3, 11-1, 11-2, to reach the semis, where he will play IRT #4 Daniel De La Rosa, who needed five games to get past 5th seed David Horn, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 7-11, 11-1.

The semi-finals are Saturday morning at 10 and 11 AM, and will be streamed live via the IRT Network. The final is Saturday night at 7 PM. All times Central.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Everything went according to form in the Round of 16 at the 2017 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) St. Louis Pro Racquetball Winter Rollout in St. Louis, Missouri, as the higher seeds have won all eight matches with only two going more than three games. IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk only needed three games to get past Adam Manilla, winning 11-1, 11-0, 11-0.

Waselenchuk will play 8th seed Samuel Murray in the quarterfinals, as Murray beat Felipe Camacho, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-4, in one of the two Round of 16 matches to go four games. In the other, IRT #4 Daniel De La Rosa dropped the first game against Justus Benson, but came back to win in four games, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 13-11. Benson was looking good, especially with his drive serve to the left side.

Finally, in a match that we would have thought would go more than three games, David Horn defeated Jake Bredenbeck in three straight games, 11-5, 11-9, 11-4. Horn will play De La Rosa in the quarters later today.

The quarterfinals will be Friday afternoon and evening from 4 PM on, and can be viewed live via the IRT Network. They’ll play both the semi-finals and final on Saturday, so the semis are at 10 and 11 AM with the final at 7 PM. All times Central.

The 2017 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) St. Louis Pro Racquetball Winter Rollout kicked off in St. Louis, Missouri Thursday night with former top 10 player Tony Carson making just his fourth appearance on tour in the last three years.

Carson played Jake Bredenbeck in qualifying for a spot in Friday’s Round of 16 against David Horn, but it was Bredenbeck who came out on top, winning 11-0, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9.

The other qualifying result of note was Fabrizio Mora’s upset win over Scott McClellan, 5-11, 2-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. Mora will play Jansen Allen in the 16s Friday.

The Round of 16 will be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon and evening from 4 PM on. They’ll play both the semi-finals and final on Saturday, so the semis are at 10 and 11 AM with the final at 7 PM. All times Central.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The 2017 St. Louis Pro Racquetball Winter Rollout is this weekend’s International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Tier 1 event happening in St. Louis, Missouri. The top players are all there, as well as a former top 10 player in Tony Carson. He’ll play Jake Bredenbeck in qualifying for a spot in the Round of 16 against David Horn.

Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 IRT player, will be looking to continue his tournament winning streak, but IRT #2 Rocky Carson will try to prevent that happening, as will #3 Alvaro Beltran and #4 Daniel De La Rosa.

The Round of 16 should be streamed live Friday from 10 AM via the IRT Network with the quarterfinals Friday afternoon and evening from 4 PM on. They’ll play both the semi-finals and final on Saturday, so the semis are at 10 and 11 AM with the final at 7 PM. All times Central.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Mexico came out on top of the team standings at the 2017 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which wasn’t a surprise. But it was surprising that Bolivia won the Girls Team title, especially considering they didn’t have a team in Girls U18 Doubles, so scored zero in the division. Yet they were narrowly ahead of the Mexican girls1032 points to 1028. We think this is the first time Bolivia has won the girls title at World Juniors.

Micaela Meneses Cuellar led the Bolivian girls with gold medals in both U14 Girls Singles and U14 Girls Doubles with Camila Arnez. Three other Bolivian girls were double medalists: Stefanny Barrios won gold in U16 Singles and bronze in U18 Singles, Valeria Centellas won gold in Girls U16 Doubles (with Romina Rivero) and bronze in U18 Singles, and Romina Rivero won gold in Girls U16 Doubles (with Centellas) and bronze in Girls U16 Singles.

The USA boys won three gold medals - two from Akul Ramayani (Boys U14 Singles & Doubles, with Antonio Rojas) and one from Mauro Rojas (Boys U18 Singles), which was the most of any country. Yet they were still 2nd in the Boys Team standings with 932 points compared to Mexico’s 1200, which included gold from Sebastian Fernandez in Boys U16 Singles and gold from Gerardo Franco and Eduardo Portillo in Boys U18 Doubles.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Bolivia won three of the four gold medals in doubles, Mexico two and USA one at the 2017 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday. Bolivia took two of the three gold medals in Girls Doubles and one in Boys, while Mexico took one in each, and the USA won the other Boys division.

Bolivians Valeria Centellas and Romina Rivero went undefeated through the Girls U16 round robin competition to capture the gold, and their team-mates Camila Arnez and Micaela Meneses Cuellar did the same in Girls U14. On the boys side, Bolivians Diego Garcia and Gerson Miranda narrowly defeated Sebastian Fernandez and Oscar Nieto of Mexico, 15-10, 15-14, to claim the Boys U16 title.

Mexico took both the U18 titles. Gerardo Franco and Eduardo Portillo (Mexico) beat Canadians Simon Comeau and Trevor Webb, 15-9, 15-2, for the Boys U18 title, and Denisse Maldonado and Montserrat Mejia of Mexico were winners in the Girls U18 title, going 3-1 over the double round robin competition.

Akul Ramayani and Antonio Rojas won the USA's only doubles title by defeating Mexicans Sebastian Longoria and Erick Trujillo, 15-12, 15-11, in the final of Boys U14 Doubles. The win gave Ramayani two gold medals in U14, as he also won gold in Boys U14 Singles.

There were two girls who were double gold medalists: Mejia in Girls U18 Singles and Doubles, and Cuellar in U14 Singles and Doubles.

The 2017 IRF World Juniors concluded Saturday at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When a country hosts a sporting event, they hope the "home cooking" will benefit their players. That certainly seemed to be the case Saturday in the singles finals at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the USA won two gold medals in the boys divisions.

One came in the premier Boys' event: U18, as American Mauro Rojas defeated Eduardo Portillo of Mexico in two straight games, 15-6, 15-14. After winning the first game, Rojas took a 6-0 lead in game two. But Portillo wasn't going to go that quietly, as he came back to tie it at 6-6, and they went back and forth from there.

Rojas did get another lead at 11-8, but it was Portillo who got to 14 first at 14-12. On his first game point, Portillo skipped a backhand, and that led to Rojas's 13th point. But Portillo got the serve back with a backhand pinch winner off Rojas's serve. Portillo couldn't covert his second game point, as Rojas smashed a backhand return that went off the left wall to the front wall a few feet off the floor and deep into the back court. It put Portillo in an awkward spot, and he couldn't get out of it.

Porteillo gave Rojas his 14th point on a silver platter as he blew up a backhand return, putting it right into the floor. On his first match point, Rojas hit a forehand pinch shot that Portillo could not retrieve, so Rojas is the 2017 World Junior Champion in Boys U18.

Akul Ramayani got the USA their other gold medal in Boys Singles, as he won Boys U14 by defeating Mexican Sebastian Longoria in two comfortable games, 15-10, 15-5. After a 7-4 lead in game one, Fernandez was never within fewer than three points of Ramayani except at the start of game two.

Perhaps the most dramatic final was in Boys U16, as Sebastian Fernandez of Mexico defeated Bolivian Gerson Miranda, 15-14, 15-11. Fernandez was down 14-7 in game one, but still came back to win. Then in game two, Miranda was ahead early, including an 8-3 lead. But Miranda was doing a lot of work in the match, diving multiple times on multiple rallies. It seemed that took its toll as game two went along, as Miranda appeared to be tired in the second half of game two. Thus, Fernandez caught up at 9-9, and then edged ahead to 13-10, and won it at 15-11, when he ended the last of the many long rallies the players had with a forehand cross court shot.

Gabriela Martinez will not return to Guatemala with a gold medal for the first time in World Cup competition. She'd won gold twice in both U14 and U16, but in her first U18 final, Martinez lost to Mexican Montserrat Mejia, 15-13, 4-15, 11-5. After splitting the first two games, Mejia got the first two points of game three. But Martinez responded with four straight points to make it 4-2, and it looked like she'd keep her gold medal run intact.

However, Mejia scored seven unanswered points to lead 9-4. Martinez did call a timeout at 5-4, but to no avail, as Mejia won the next three rallies. Mejia got her first match point with a backhand pinch that was flat out of the left corner. She converted that match point by hitting a drive Z serve to the left that Martinez returned with a backhand into the floor.

The win is a measure of revenge for Mejia, as she lost to Martinez in the Girls U16 final last year.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Only one of the Boys Doubles semi-finals at the 2017 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota went to three games. That happened in Boys U14, as Mexicans Sebastian Longoria and Erick Trujillo came back from a game down to defeat Bolivians Hector Barrios and Adrian Jaldin, 10-15, 15-12, 11-6.

Bolivia will play the USA pair of Akul Ramayani and Antonio Rojas in the final on Saturday, as the USA beat Josue Bermeo and Pablo Vera of Ecuador, 15-3, 15-12.

Bolivia is also in the Boys U16 final, as Diego Garcia and Gerson Miranda (Bolivia) beat Julian Homberger and Tomas Sanchez of Costa Rica, 15-7, 15-5, in the semi-finals Friday. They will play Mexico in the final, as Sebastian Fernandez and Oscar Nieto of Mexico defeated Juan Sebastian Flores and Esteban de Janon of Ecuador, 15-9, 15-14, in the other semi.

The Boys U18 final will see Mexico and Canada face off. Mexicans Gerardo Franco and Eduardo Portillo defeated Ecuadorans Juan Francisco Cueva and Jorge Ochoa Moreira, 15-2, 15-5, in one semi-final, while Canadians Simon Comeau and Trevor Webb beat Sergio Acuña and Andres Montero of Costa Rica in the other semi, 15-11, 15-11.

In Girls U16 Friday, there were wins by Mexico's Delia Aguilar and Laura Flores, Bolivia's Valeria Centellas and Romina Rivero, and Ecuador's Nathalia Pinero and Ana Lucia Sarmiento on Friday. That sets up a likely silver medal match between Mexico's Aguilar and Flores and the USA's Briana Jacquet and Graciana Wargo, as both teams have a 3-1 record. The Bolivians are undefeated at 4-0, and we think have wrapped up the gold medal. Bolivia does play Ecuador Saturday, but even a loss to Ecuador would put Bolivia on 4-1, which would be the same record as the winner of Mexico-USA, but Bolivia has beaten both those teams, so has the head to head advantage.

The picture in Girls U14 is more complicated, as there are three teams that could finish with 4-1 records: Camila Arnez and Micaela Meneses Cuellar of Bolivia - now 4-0, Sofia Freer and Maricruz Ortiz of Costa Rica at 3-1, and Guadalupe Griffin and Valeria Hernandez of Mexico at 3-1. Bolivia and Mexico play each other on Saturday, and Bolivia win gives them the gold medal. But a Mexico win, and Costa Rica win over Ireland, who are winless so far, would give those three teams 4-1 records, which would mean a tie-breaker rule would come into effect. Earlier this week, Costa Rica beat Mexico in a breaker, and Friday Bolivia beat Costa Rica two straight, so gold will depend on who wins between Bolivia and Mexico and whether the win is in two straight games or needs a tie-breaker.

The 2017 IRF World Juniors concludes Saturday at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.

The semi-finals in singles at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota produced some dramatic matches with more than one upset.

The most dramatic matches were two 11-10 tie-breakers. In Boys U16, Sebastian Fernandez of Mexico came back in the breaker to defeat Diego Garcia of Bolivia, 15-13, 13-15, 11-10. Garcia was up 8-4, and 10-8, but Fernandez came back each time to squeak out the victory. He'll play another Bolivian in the final, as Gerson Miranda (Bolivia) beat Liam Evangelista (Mexico), 15-7, 15-8, in the other semi-final.

In Boys U14, American Akul Ramayani will play for gold on home soil as he overcame match points in both games two and three to defeat Bolivian Hector Barrios, 10-15, 15-14, 11-10. Ramayani will play Mexican Sebastian Longoria in the final, as Longoria beat Ramayani's team-mate Antonio Rojas (USA), 15-14, 15-6, in the other semi.

There was only on tie-breaker from the Girls World Cup divisions, but it was the most surprising one, as top seed in Girls U18 Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala needed three games to get past Bolivian Valeria Centellas, 15-1, 12-15, 11-3. Martinez's win combined with Mexican Montserrat Mejia's win over Stefanny Barrios of Bolivia, 15-12, 15-13, in the other semi means this year's Girls U18 final will be a repeat of last year's Girls U16 final, when Martinez defeated Mejia for the gold medal.

In an upset that didn't require three games, American Mauro Rojas beat Gerardo Franco of Mexico, 15-10, 15-11. Rojas will play another Mexican in the final Saturday, as Eduardo Portillo beat Canadian Trevor Webb in the other semi, 15-3, 15-11. If Portillo wins on Saturday it will be his 2nd consecutive gold medal at World Juniors, as he won gold in Boys U16 last year. If Rojas wins, it will be 2nd medal in U18 as he was a bronze medalist two years ago.

The IRF World Junior Championships conclude Saturday at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.

They are down to the semi-finals in doubles at the 2017 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at the Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In Girls U18 Doubles, the USA team of Megan Carver and Hollie Scott defeated Maria Jose Muñoz and Ana Lucia Sarmiento of Ecuador, 15-11, 15-7. The win levels the head to head record between the teams, as there were three teams in the division, which was a double round robin. In their first match, Ecuador won in a tie-breaker, so the USA's win in two straight games should give them the silver medal. Mexicans Denisse Maldonado and Montserrat Mejia have already wrapped up the gold with three wins. There will be one last match between Mexico and the USA on Saturday.

Mexicans Gerardo Franco and Eduardo Portillo won their Boys U18 Doubles quarterfinal match in decisive fashion by beating Lukas Le and Mauro Rojas of the USA, 15-0, 15-9. In the semi-finals, Mexico will play Ecuadorans Juan Francisco Cueva and Jorge Ochoa Moreira, who were straight game winners over Geovani Mendoza and Jose Salvatierra of Guatemala, 15-3, 15-8.

The other semi will be between Canadians Simon Comeau and Trevor Webb - winners over Colombians Felipe Cardona and Set Cubillos, 15-2, 15-11 - and Costa Ricans Sergio Acuña and Andres Montero, who had a narrow two game win over Rodrigo Mendoza and Bryan Zambrana of Bolivia, 15-12, 15-12.

The IRF World Juniors semi-finals go Friday in the boys divisions, while the girls continue their doubles round robin competitions Friday as well. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

It was quarterfinal day Thursday at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships at Lifetime Fitness Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the medalists were determined in the singles divisions.

In Boys U18, Canadian Trevor Webb upset the 2nd seed Fernando Ruiz, 15-1, 15-13, to earn a place in the semi-finals, and assure himself at least a bronze medal. Also, winning in an upset was 5th seed Mauro Rojas of the USA beating 4th seed Set Cubillos of Colombia, 15-13, 6-15, 11-3. But Mexico could still put two players in the final, as Mexican Eduardo Portillo defeated Dane Elkins (USA), 15-7, 15-7, and Gerardo Franco still to play Andres Montero (Costa Rica) in the quarters. Portillo plays Webb, and Rojas faces either Franco or Montero.

Top seed in Girls U18 - Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala - won her quarterfinal match in two straight games, defeating Canadian Alexis Iwaasa, 15-7, 15-3. Martinez will face Bolivian Valeria Centellas in the semi-finals, as Centellas squeaked out a tie-breaker win over Erin Rivera of Mexico, 14-15, 15-8, 11-9.

Also, Centallas's Bolivian team-mate Stefanny Barrios ended American Hollie Scott's dreams of a medal, 5-15, 15-11, 11-5, in the quarters. She'll play 2nd seed Montserrat Mejia of Mexico, who ended American Jordan Cooperrider's junior career by defeating her 15-9, 15-3.

The IRF World Juniors playoff continues Thursday and runs through Saturday. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.

The second round of singles matches Wednesday at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Lifetime Fitness Target Center produced plenty of drama, especially as it was the first playoff day, so players who lose from this day forward are eliminated from the tournament. It's win or go home.

In Boys U18, there were four matches that went tie-breaker - two involving the USA players fighting back from a game down to win. Mauro Rojas (USA) dropped the first game against Ecuador's Juan Francisco Cueva, but won in the breaker, 12-15, 15-10, 11-1, and Dane Elkins (USA) won a close breaker against Bolivian Bryan Zambrana, 13-15, 15-8, 11-8.

In Girls U18, there was one dramatic match Wednesday, as Canadian Alexis Iwaasa narrowly defeated Maria Jose Muñoz of Ecuador, 14-15, 15-9, 11-10. In game one, Muñoz was ahead most of the way, but Iwaasa got to 14 first at 14-13, yet couldn't finish it off, as Muñoz forced her into skipping a forehand shot. With the serve back, Muñoz hit two winners to win game one, 15-14.

In game two, they were tied at 2-2, but Iwaasa took the lead from there, and maintained it to win 15-9, and force a tie-breaker. In the breaker, Iwassa continued to lead, but Muñoz never quit, and she tied the game at 8-8. An avoidable call gave Muñoz her 9th point, and a forehand pinch shot put her on match point at 10-8.

But with the match on her racquet, Muñoz skipped a backhand shot from the back left corner. She gave Iwaasa a point with another backhand skip, but still led 10-9. Iwaasa hit a forehand pinch shot to get her 10th point, and then a drive serve ace to the left side won her the match, 11-10.

The victory puts Iwaasa up against the top seed Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala in the quarters on Thursday.

The IRF World Juniors playoff continues Thursday and runs through Saturday. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.

There were only a few doubles matches Wednesday at the 29th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Junior Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Lifetime Fitness Target Center, and no surprises. They will battle for medals Thursday on the boy's side, as it's quarterfinals day: win and you get a medal. Lose and you go home without one.

More word on the forfeit loss by the Mexicans Gerardo Franco and Eduardo Portillo in the last round robin round of Boys U18 Doubles. They didn't show up on time for the match. One report is that one of the players didn't have his shorts, and by the time he went back to hotel to fetch them, they were over the 10 min from the time they were called to the court.

Thus, they had to play a match on Wednesday, which they won against Lee Gun Hee and Tae Hwa Jeong of South Korea, 15-3, 15-2. The Mexicans will play 2nd seeds Lukas Le and Mauro Rojas of the USA in the quarters Thursday.

The IRF World Juniors quarterfinals are Thursday in the boys divisions, while the girls continue their doubles round robin competitions Thursday as well. Check out the IRF Facebook page for live streaming of the event.